Vehicle opening and closing body control device that senses gestures

ABSTRACT

An opening and closing body control device is applied to a vehicle that includes a vehicle body having an opening, an opening and closing body configured to open and close the opening, a drive unit configured to operate the opening and closing body, and a detection device configured to detect a gesture operation of a user. The opening and closing body control device includes: a position acquisition unit configured to acquire a position of a portable device carried by the user by wireless communication; an operation determination unit configured to determine whether the gesture operation is executed in a situation where the portable device is present in a detection area of the detection device; and an opening and closing body control unit configured to operate the opening and closing body based on a content of the gesture operation when it is determined that the user executes the gesture operation.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119to Japanese Patent Application 2021-023488, filed on Feb. 17, 2021, theentire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to an opening and closing body control device.

BACKGROUND DISCUSSION

JP 2006-213206A (Reference 1) discloses, as an example of an opening andclosing body control device, a window sensor for a vehicle including asensor electrode provided on a window glass of the vehicle, and anelectrostatic capacitance detection circuit that detects anelectrostatic capacitance between the sensor electrode and a vehiclebody. The window sensor for a vehicle unlocks the door or opens the doorwhen a user brings his/her hand into contact with the window glass, inother words, when an operation of the user is detected.

The window sensor for a vehicle as described above has room forimprovement in view of preventing the door from being erroneouslyoperated.

SUMMARY

An opening and closing body control device is applied to a vehicle thatincludes a vehicle body having an opening, an opening and closing bodyconfigured to open and close the opening, a drive unit configured tooperate the opening and closing body, and a detection device configuredto detect a gesture operation of a user. The opening and closing bodycontrol device includes: a position acquisition unit configured toacquire a position of a portable device carried by the user by wirelesscommunication; an operation determination unit configured to determinewhether the gesture operation is executed in a situation where theportable device is present in a detection area of the detection device;and an opening and closing body control unit configured to operate theopening and closing body based on a content of the gesture operationwhen it is determined that the user executes the gesture operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and additional features and characteristics of thisdisclosure will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription considered with the reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle including a door controldevice according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the doorcontrol device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process performed by the doorcontrol device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle including a door controldevice according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the doorcontrol device according to the second embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process performed by the doorcontrol device according to the second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Embodiment

A vehicle including an opening and closing body control device(hereinafter, also referred to as a “door control device”) according toa first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a vehicle 10 includes a vehicle body 20,doors 30, door drive units 40, door lock devices 50, door lock driveunits 60, cameras 70, an illumination device 80, an in-vehiclecommunication device 90, and a door control device 100.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle body 20 includes first openings 21 andsecond openings 22 that are opened on lateral sides, and a third opening23 that is opened on a rear side. The first openings 21 are located infront of the second openings 22, respectively. The first openings 21 andthe second openings 22 are portions through which a user passes whengetting on and off the vehicle 10. The third opening 23 is a portion inwhich the user puts in and takes out luggage in and from a luggagecompartment. Each of the first openings 21, the second openings 22, andthe third opening 23 corresponds to an example of an “opening”.

The doors 30 include front doors 31 that open and close the firstopenings 21 respectively, rear doors 32 that open and close the secondopenings 22 respectively, and a back door 33 that opens and closes thethird opening 23. The front door 31 is a swing door whose front endportion is connected to the vehicle body 20 via a hinge (not shown). Thefront door 31 is displaced between a fully closed position at which thefirst opening 21 is fully closed and a fully open position at which thefirst opening 21 is fully opened. The rear door 32 is a slide doorsupported by a rail (not shown) extending in a front-rear direction. Therear door 32 is displaced between a fully closed position at which thesecond opening 22 is fully closed and a fully open position at which thesecond opening 22 is fully opened. The back door 33 is a flip-up doorwhose upper end portion is connected to the vehicle body 20 via a hinge(not shown). The back door 33 is displaced between a fully closedposition at which the third opening 23 is fully closed and a fully openposition at which the third opening 23 is fully opened. The door 30corresponds to an example of an “opening and closing body”.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the door drive units 40 include a first door driveunit 41 that drives the front doors 31, a second door drive unit 42 thatdrives the rear doors 32, and a third door drive unit 43 that drives theback door 33. Each of the first door drive unit 41, the second doordrive unit 42, and the third door drive unit 43 includes, for example, amotor and a transmission mechanism that transmits a power of the motorto the corresponding doors 30. In the following description, operatingthe door 30 from the fully closed position to the fully open position isalso referred to as an “opening operation”, and operating the door 30from the fully open position to the fully closed position is alsoreferred to as a “closing operation”. The door drive unit 40 correspondsto an example of a “drive unit”.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the door lock devices 50 include first door lockdevices 51 that restrain the front doors 31 to the vehicle body 20respectively, second door lock devices 52 that restrain the rear doors32 to the vehicle body 20 respectively, and a third door lock device 53that restrains the back door 33 to the vehicle body 20. The first doorlock device 51 is switched between a locked state where the front door31 located at the fully closed position is restrained to the vehiclebody 20 and an unlocked state where the front door 31 located at thefully closed position is not restrained to the vehicle body 20. Thesecond door lock device 52 is switched between a locked state where therear door 32 located at the fully closed position is restrained to thevehicle body 20 and an unlocked state where the rear door 32 located atthe fully closed position is not restrained to the vehicle body 20. Thethird door lock device 53 is switched between a locked state where theback door 33 located at the fully closed position is restrained to thevehicle body 20 and an unlocked state where the back door 33 located atthe fully closed position is not restrained to the vehicle body 20.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the door lock drive units 60 include a first doorlock drive unit 61 that switches a state of a corresponding one of thefirst door lock devices 51, a second door lock drive unit 62 thatswitches a state of a corresponding one of the second door lock device52, and a third door lock drive unit 63 that switches a state of thethird door lock device 53. Each of the door lock drive units 60 includesa motor and a transmission mechanism that transmits a power of the motorto a corresponding one of the door lock devices 50. In the followingdescription, shifting the door lock device 50 from the lock state to theunlock state is also referred to as an unlock operation, and shiftingthe door lock device 50 from the unlock state to the lock state is alsoreferred to as a lock operation. The door lock drive unit 60 correspondsto an example of the “drive unit”.

The cameras 70 include side cameras 71 that each capture an image of anarea on the lateral side of the vehicle 10 as an imaging area, and aback camera 72 that captures an image of an area on the rear side of thevehicle 10 as an imaging area. The camera 70 is configured to beadjustable in directions. In other words, the camera 70 can adjust theimaging area by changing a direction. In the following description, asshown in FIG. 1 , an area in which an image can be captured by thecamera 70 at a present time is also referred to as a “first imaging areaA1”, and an area in which an image can be captured by the camera 70 byadjusting a direction of the camera 70 is also referred to as a “secondimaging area A2”. That is, the first imaging area A1 is smaller than thesecond imaging area A2. The camera 70 corresponds to an example of a“detection device”, and the first imaging area A1 corresponds to anexample of a “detection area”.

In the present embodiment, the side cameras 71 are installed in sidemirrors, but in another embodiment, the side cameras 71 may be installedin the front door 31 and the rear door 32 respectively, or may beinstalled above the first opening 21 and the second opening 22 in thevehicle body 20. In the present embodiment, the back camera 72 isinstalled in the back door 33, but in another embodiment, the backcamera 72 may be installed below the third opening 23 in the vehiclebody 20. The camera 70 may be a dedicated camera provided to detect agesture operation of the user that will be described later, or may be acamera provided to detect surroundings of the vehicle 10. The camera 70outputs a captured video to the door control device 100.

The illumination device 80 is a light that illuminates the surroundingsof the vehicle 10. It is preferable that the illumination device 80 canilluminate at least the imaging area of the side cameras 71 and theimaging area of the back camera 72. In this respect, it is preferablethat the illumination device 80 is installed in a vicinity of the sidecameras 71 or installed in a vicinity of the back camera 72.

The in-vehicle communication device 90 includes first antennas 91 and afirst communication control unit 92. A portable device 200 communicatingwith the in-vehicle communication device 90 includes second antennas 201and a second communication control unit 202. The in-vehiclecommunication device 90 is a communication device that is mounted on thevehicle. The portable device 200 is a communication device carried bythe user. That is, the portable device 200 is an electronic key of thevehicle 10, a smartphone, or the like. The portable device 200 may be awearable device such as a smart watch.

The first antennas 91 include an antenna that transmits a signal in alow frequency (LF) band, an antenna that receives a signal in an ultrahigh frequency (UHF) band, and an antenna that transmits and receives asignal in an ultra wide band (UWB). It is preferable that two or morefirst antennas 91 are installed at different locations with respect tothe vehicle body 20. The second antennas 201 include an antenna thatreceives a signal in the LF band, an antenna that transmits a signal inthe UHF band, and an antenna that transmits and receives a signal in theUWB band.

The first communication control unit 92 and the second communicationcontrol unit 202 mutually authenticate by mutually transmitting andreceiving signals. Hereinafter, an authentication method will be brieflydescribed. The first communication control unit 92 transmits, from thefirst antenna 91 in a predetermined control cycle, a signal in the LFband including information for identifying the in-vehicle communicationdevice 90. Upon receiving the signal in the LF band transmitted from thefirst antenna 91, the second communication control unit 202 analyzes thesignal. When the received signal includes information indicating thein-vehicle communication device 90 that is mounted on the vehicle 10associated with the portable device 200, the second communicationcontrol unit 202 authenticates the in-vehicle communication device 90.After authenticating the in-vehicle communication device 90, the secondcommunication control unit 202 transmits, from the second antenna 201, asignal in the UHF band including information for identifying theportable device 200. Upon receiving the signal in the UHF bandtransmitted from the second antenna 201, the first communication controlunit 92 analyzes the signal. When the received signal includesinformation indicating the portable device 200 that is associated withthe in-vehicle communication device 90, the first communication controlunit 92 authenticates the portable device 200. In this manner, thein-vehicle communication device 90 and the portable device 200 mutuallyauthenticate. In the following description, an area at a time when thein-vehicle communication device 90 and the portable device 200 mutuallyauthenticate is also referred to as a “mutual authentication area”. Inthe present embodiment, the mutual authentication area is an area largerthan the second imaging area A2.

The first communication control unit 92 also estimates a position of theportable device 200 by mutually transmitting and receiving signals toand from the second communication control unit 202. Hereinafter, aposition estimation method will be briefly described. The firstcommunication control unit 92 transmits a signal in the UWB band fromthe first antenna 91. Subsequently, upon receiving the signal in the UWBband from the first antenna 91, the second communication control unit202 transmits a signal in the UWB band from the second antenna 201.Thereafter, the first communication control unit 92 receives the signalin the UWB band from the second antenna 201. The first communicationcontrol unit 92 transmits and receives the above signals in relation tothe plural first antennas 91 installed in the vehicle 10. Finally, thefirst communication control unit 92 estimates the position of theportable device 200 based on a signal arrival time which is a time takento transmit and receive the signals and a signal arrival direction whichis a direction in which the signal is received.

Hereinafter, the door control device 100 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the door control device 100 includes a positionacquisition unit 101, a camera control unit 102, an illumination controlunit 103, an area setting unit 104, an operation determination unit 105,and a door control unit 106. In the present embodiment, the door controlunit 106 corresponds to an example of an “opening and closing bodycontrol unit”.

The position acquisition unit 101 acquires the position of the portabledevice 200 by making the in-vehicle communication device 90 and theportable device 200 mutually communicate. In other words, the positionacquisition unit 101 acquires the position of the user carrying theportable device 200 by wireless communication.

The camera control unit 102 adjusts the direction of the camera 70.Specifically, when the portable device 200 is outside the first imagingarea A1 and is located in the second imaging area A2, the camera controlunit 102 adjusts the direction of the camera 70 such that the portabledevice 200 falls within the first imaging area A1. Even when theportable device 200 falls within the first imaging area A1, the cameracontrol unit 102 may adjust the direction of the camera 70 such that theportable device 200 is located at a center of the first imaging area A1when the portable device 200 is located at an end of the first imagingarea A1.

The illumination control unit 103 controls on and off of theillumination device 80 in a situation in which the vehicle 10 is stoppedand the cameras 70 are activated. Specifically, the illumination controlunit 103 turns on the illumination device 80 when the surroundings ofthe vehicle 10 are dark to such an extent that it is not suitable forthe cameras 70 to capture an image, and turns off the illuminationdevice 80 when the surroundings of the vehicle 10 are bright to such anextent that capturing an image by the camera 70 is not affected. Forexample, the illumination control unit 103 may switch the on and off ofthe illumination device 80, for example, according to a time zone basedon a sunrise time and a sunset time. When the vehicle 10 includes anilluminance sensor, the illumination control unit 103 may switch the onand off of the illumination device 80 based on a detection result of theilluminance sensor.

The area setting unit 104 sets a recognition area A3 narrower than thefirst imaging area A1 based on the position of the portable device 200.It is preferable that the recognition area A3 is an area including theuser carrying the portable device 200. Therefore, the recognition areaA3 may be, for example, a circular area whose radius is about 50 cm andwhose center is at the position of the portable device 200. In anotherembodiment, the recognition area A3 may be an elliptical area or arectangular area.

The operation determination unit 105 determines, based on an imagecaptured by the camera 70, whether the gesture operation set in advanceis executed by the user in the recognition area A3. The gestureoperation is executed by the user moving a part of his or her body suchas a foot and a hand. For example, the gesture operation using the footof the user is an operation in which the user swings his or her toearound his or her heel. The gesture operation using the hand of the useris an operation in which the user raises his or her hand or shakes hisor her hand.

Specifically, the operation determination unit 105 performs aspecification process of specifying the part of the body of the userused for the gesture operation, and a determination process ofdetermining whether the specified part of the body of the user executesan operation corresponding to the gesture operation. In thespecification process, the operation determination unit 105 may specifythe part of the body of the user by using a learned model that hasmachine-learned. Here, the learned model is obtained by performingmachine learning using teacher data in which an image captured inadvance and the part of the body of the user are associated with eachother. In the determination process, the operation determination unit105 may determine whether a movement of the specified part of the bodyof the user matches the gesture operation by using an optical flow.

When the operation determination unit 105 determines that the userexecutes the gesture operation, the door control unit 106 operates thedoor 30. Contents of the operation to the door 30 include locking thedoor 30, unlocking the door 30, closing the door 30, and opening thedoor 30. The door control unit 106 operates the door 30 when switchesprovided in a driver seat and the door 30 are operated or when a switchprovided in the portable device 200 is operated.

The door control unit 106 determines one of the doors 30 to be operatedin accordance with the position of the user who executes the gestureoperation. When the user executes the gesture operation in the firstimaging area A1 on a right side of the vehicle 10, the door control unit106 operates one of the front door 31 on the right side and the reardoor 32 on the right side. Specifically, the door control unit 106operates a door closest to the user among the front door 31 on the rightside and the rear door 32 on the right side. Similarly, when the userexecutes the gesture operation in the first imaging area A1 on a leftside of the vehicle 10, the door control unit 106 operates one of thefront door 31 on the left side and the rear door 32 on the left side.Specifically, the door control unit 106 operates a door closest to theuser among the front door 31 on the left side and the rear door 32 onthe left side. When the user executes the gesture operation in the firstimaging area A1 on the rear side of the vehicle 10, the door controlunit 106 operates the back door 33. In this way, when the user executesthe gesture operation, the door control unit 106 operates a door closestto the user among the five doors. In the present embodiment, the frontdoor 31 and the rear door 32 correspond to an example of “a firstopening and closing body and a second opening and closing body”,respectively.

When the user executes the gesture operation, the door control unit 106may only unlock a specific door or unlock the specific door and open thedoor. In particular, a user who executes the gesture operation may bepresent in an operation range of the front door 31 and the back door 33.Therefore, it is preferable that when the portable device 200 is presentin the operation range of the front door 31 and the back door 33, thedoor control unit 106 restricts an operation of the front door 31 and anoperation of the back door 33. For example, it is preferable that thedoor control unit 106 does not open and close the front door 31 and theback door 33 even when the door control unit 106 unlockes the front door31 and the back door 33.

In another embodiment, the door control unit 106 may determine the oneof the doors 30 to be operated according to a content of the gestureoperation executed by the user. The door control unit 106 may limit theone of the doors 30 to be operated to the front door 31 or the rear door32 when the user executes the gesture operation. Further, the doorcontrol unit 106 may be configured such that the user can appropriatelyset a correspondence relation between the gesture operation, the one ofthe doors 30 to be operated, and the content of the operation.

Next, a flow of a process performed by the door control device 100 whenthe user attempts to operate a specific door of the vehicle 10 that isstopped will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 3. This process is performed after mutual authentication is completedbetween the in-vehicle communication device 90 and the portable device200.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the door control device 100 acquires the positionof the portable device 200 by transmitting and receiving the signals inthe UWB band between the in-vehicle communication device 90 and theportable device 200 (S11). Thereafter, the door control device 100determines whether the portable device 200 is present in the secondimaging area A2 (S12). When the portable device 200 is not present inthe second imaging area A2 (S12: NO), in other words, when the usercarrying the portable device 200 is not present in the vicinity of thevehicle 10, the door control device 100 temporarily ends the process.

Meanwhile, when the portable device 200 is present in the second imagingarea A2 (S12: YES), in other words, when the user carrying the portabledevice 200 is present in the vicinity of the vehicle 10, the doorcontrol device 100 activates the camera 70 (S13). At this time, it ispreferable that when the surroundings of the vehicle 10 are dark to suchan extent that it is not suitable for the cameras 70 to capture animage, the door control device 100 turns on the illumination device 80.

Thereafter, the door control device 100 acquires the position of theportable device 200 (S14). Subsequently, the door control device 100determines whether the portable device 200 is present in the firstimaging area A1 (S15). When the portable device 200 is present in thefirst imaging area A1 (S15: YES), the process performed by the doorcontrol device 100 proceeds to step S17. Meanwhile, when the portabledevice 200 is not in the first imaging area A1 (S15: NO), the doorcontrol device 100 adjusts the direction of the camera 70 such that theportable device 200 falls within the first imaging area A1 (S16).Thereafter, the process performed by the door control device 100proceeds to step S17.

Subsequently, the door control device 100 sets the recognition area A3with reference to the position of the portable device 200 (S17). For thedoor control device 100, setting the recognition area A3 means that thegesture operation of the user can be detected. Therefore, the doorcontrol device 100 may notify the user that the gesture operation of theuser can be detected. Examples of the notification method includevibrating the portable device 200 and outputting sound from the portabledevice 200.

Then, the door control device 100 determines whether the gestureoperation of the user is detected in the recognition area A3 (S18). Whenthe gesture operation of the user is detected (S18: YES), the doorcontrol device 100 operates one of the doors 30 to be operated (S19).Thereafter, the door control device 100 stops the camera 70 (S20), andends the process.

When the gesture operation is not detected in step S18 (S18: NO), thedoor control device 100 determines whether the portable device 200 ispresent in the second imaging area A2 (S21). When the portable device200 is present in the second imaging area A2 (S21: YES), in other words,when the user carrying the portable device 200 moves around the vehicle10, the process performed by the door control device 100 proceeds tostep S14. Meanwhile, when the portable device 200 is not present in thesecond imaging area A2 (S21: NO), in other words, when the user carryingthe portable device 200 leaves the vehicle 10, the door control device100 stops the camera 70 (S22) and ends the process.

A function of the present embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a user who attempts to open the front door 31approaches the front door 31 while carrying the portable device 200.Thereafter, the user executes a predetermined gesture operation. Then,the front door 31 is unlocked, and then is opened. At this time, theuser only needs to execute the gesture operation in the imaging area ofthe side camera 71, and for example, it is not necessary to execute thegesture operation in front of the front door 31.

Effects of the first embodiment will be described.

(1) The door control device 100 operates the door 30 when the portabledevice 200 is present in the first imaging area A1 and the user executesthe gesture operation. In other words, when the portable device 200 isnot present in the first imaging area A1, the door control device 100does not activate the doors 30 even when the user executes the gestureoperation. Therefore, the door control device 100 can prevent the door30 from being operated based on the gesture operation of the user whodoes not carry the portable device 200. For example, the door controldevice 100 can prevent the door 30 from being operated when erroneouslydetermining the gesture operation by, for example, a movement of anobject that is not the user around the vehicle 10. Therefore, the doorcontrol device 100 can prevent the door 30 from being erroneouslyoperated.

(2) The door control device 100 sets the recognition area A3 in relationto a current position of the user carrying the portable device 200. Inother words, the door control device 100 does not set the recognitionarea A3 in relation to the vehicle 10, such as a position of a frontsurface of the door 30. Therefore, the user can operate the door 30 byperforming the gesture operation at any position. Therefore, the doorcontrol device 100 can improve convenience of the user. The door controldevice 100 determines whether the gesture operation of the user isexecuted in the narrow recognition area A3 instead of the wide imagingarea. Therefore, the door control device 100 can reduce a possibility oferroneously detecting the gesture operation of the user.

(3) The door control device 100 can switch one of the doors 30 to beoperated in accordance with the door 30 that the user approaches. Thatis, the user does not need to use a different gesture operationaccording to the one of the doors 30 to be operated. Therefore, the doorcontrol device 100 can improve the convenience of the user.

(4) The door control device 100 adjusts the direction of the camera 70.Therefore, the door control device 100 can set the recognition area A3from a wider imaging area. In other words, the door control device 100can expand an area in which the gesture operation of the user can bedetected, as compared with a case where the direction of the camera 70is fixed.

(5) When the surroundings of the vehicle 10 are dark, the image qualityof the image captured by the camera 70 is likely to deteriorate. In thisrespect, regarding the door control device 100, since the surroundingsof the vehicle 10 can be illuminated by the illumination device 80, evenwhen the surroundings of the vehicle 10 are dark, the image quality ofthe image captured by the camera 70 is less likely to decrease. As aresult, the door control device 100 can prevent an erroneous detectionof the gesture operation of the user.

Second Embodiment

Hereinafter, a door control device 100A according to a second embodimentwill be described with reference to the drawings. In the secondembodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment aredenoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thecomponents is omitted. The door control device 100A according to thesecond embodiment is different from the door control device 100 in thefirst embodiment in that the door control device 100A does not includethe camera control unit 102 and the area setting unit 104. In addition,a processing content of an operation determination unit 105A isdifferent.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the door control device 100A includes theposition acquisition unit 101, the illumination control unit 103, theoperation determination unit 105A, and the door control unit 106.

In the second embodiment, the operation determination unit 105Adetermines whether the portable device 200 approaches the vehicle 10 astime elapses based on the position of the portable device 200 acquiredby the position acquisition unit 101. Then, the operation determinationunit 105A determines whether the user executes the gesture operationwhile the portable device 200 approaches the vehicle 10. The gestureoperation executed by the user is a gesture operation that can beexecuted while walking. As an example, the gesture operation is anoperation of maintaining a state where one hand is raised upward ormaintaining a state where the hand is clasped. As described above, theoperation determination unit 105A determines whether a part of a body ofthe user to be a target of the gesture operation moves only in amovement direction of the portable device 200, thereby determiningwhether the user executes the gesture operation while the mobile device200 approaches the vehicle 10.

The operation determination unit 105A may specify a position of a handof the user, for example, by using a learned model that hasmachine-learned. Here, the learned model is obtained by performingmachine learning using teacher data in which an image captured inadvance and the part of the body of the user are associated with eachother.

In the second embodiment, the direction of the camera 70 cannot beadjusted. Therefore, a fixed imaging area is referred to as the “firstimaging area A1”.

Next, a flow of a process performed by the door control device 100A whenthe user attempts to activate the door 30 of the vehicle 10 that isstopped will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 6. This process is performed after mutual authentication is completedbetween the in-vehicle communication device 90 and the portable device200.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the door control device 100A acquires the positionof the portable device 200 by transmitting and receiving the signals inthe UWB band between the in-vehicle communication device 90 and theportable device 200 (S11). Thereafter, the door control device 100Adetermines whether the portable device 200 is present in the firstimaging area A1 (S12). When the portable device 200 is not present inthe first imaging area A1 (S12: NO), in other words, when the usercarrying the portable device 200 is not present in the vicinity of thevehicle 10, the door control device 100A temporarily ends the process.Meanwhile, when the portable device 200 is present in the first imagingarea A1 (S12: YES), in other words, when the user carrying the portabledevice 200 is present in the vicinity of the vehicle 10, the doorcontrol device 100A activates the camera 70 (S13). At this time, it ispreferable that when the surroundings of the vehicle 10 are dark to suchan extent that it is not suitable to capture an image by the camera 70,the door control device 100A turns on the illumination device 80.

The door control device 100A determines whether the gesture operation ofthe user is detected (S14). When the gesture operation is not detected(S14: NO), the door control device 100A waits until the gestureoperation is detected. Meanwhile, when the gesture operation is detected(S14: YES), the door control device 100A acquires the position of theportable device 200 (S15). Thereafter, the door control device 100Adetermines again whether the gesture operation of the user is detected(S16).

When the gesture operation is not continuously detected (S16: NO), theprocess performed by the door control device 100A proceeds to step S14.Meanwhile, when the gesture operation is continuously detected (S16:YES), the door control device 100A acquires the position of the portabledevice 200 (S17). Then, the door control device 100A determines whethera movement amount MV of the portable device 200 after an affirmativedetermination is made in step S14 is equal to or greater than a movementamount determination value MVth (S18).

Here, the movement amount MV is an amount indicating how much the usercarrying the portable device 200 has approached the vehicle 10 whileexecuting the gesture operation. It is preferable that the movementamount determination value MVth is set in advance between several tensof centimeters to several meters, for example. When the movement amountdetermination value MVth is reduced, an approach amount of the user tothe vehicle 10 in a state where the user executes the gesture operationdecreases, and thus the convenience of the user is improved. Meanwhile,when the movement amount determination value MVth is increased, theapproach amount of the user to the vehicle 10 in a state where the userexecutes the gesture operation increases, and thus determinationaccuracy of the gesture operation increases. The movement amount MVtakes a positive value when the user approaches the vehicle 10, andtakes a negative value when the user moves away from the vehicle 10.

When the movement amount MV of the user is less than the movement amountdetermination value Myth, the process performed by the door controldevice 100A proceeds to step S16. However, it is preferable that thedoor control device 100A ends this process when the movement amount MVtends to decrease, that is, when the user leaves the vehicle 10.Meanwhile, when the movement amount MV of the user is equal to orgreater than the movement amount determination value Myth, the doorcontrol device 100A actuates one of the doors 30 to be operated (S19).Thereafter, the door control device 100A stops the camera 70 (S20), andends the process.

A function of the present embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the user who attempts to open the front door 31approaches the front door 31 in a state where the user carries theportable device 200 and executes the gesture operation. Then, the frontdoor 31 is unlocked, and then is opened.

Effects of the second embodiment will be described. The secondembodiment can obtain the following effects in addition to the effects(1) and (3) of the first embodiment.

(6) When the user carrying the portable device 200 approaches thevehicle 10 while executing the gesture operation, the door controldevice 100A operates the door 30. Therefore, even when the door controldevice 100A erroneously determines that the user executes the gestureoperation, the door control device 100A does not activate the door 30unless the user approaches the vehicle 10. Therefore, the door controldevice 100A can prevent the door 30 from being erroneously operated.

The present embodiment can be modified and implemented as follows. Thepresent embodiment and the following modifications can be implemented incombination with each other as long as the embodiment and themodifications do not have technical contradiction.

The door control devices 100 and 100A may activate the camera 70 aftermutual authentication is completed between the in-vehicle communicationdevice 90 and the portable device 200.

The door control devices 100 and 100A may determine whether the portabledevice 200 approaches the vehicle 10 based on a temporal change in theposition of the portable device 200. Then, the door control device 100may activate the door 30 when the door control device 100 determinesthat the user executes the gesture operation after the portable device200 approaches the vehicle 10. The door control device 100 may activatethe door 30 when the portable device 200 approaches the vehicle 10 afterthe door control device 100 determines that the user executes thegesture operation. That is, the determination of the approach of theportable device 200 with respect to the vehicle 10 and the determinationof the execution of the gesture of the user may be at different timings.

When the door control device 100A determines the execution of thegesture operation of the user after determining the approach of theportable device 200 with respect to the vehicle 10, for example, anelectrostatic sensor installed on a window glass of the door 30 can beused as the “detection device”. In this case, the door control device100A actuates the door 30 when the portable device 200 approaches thevehicle 10 and an electrostatic capacitance value of the electrostaticsensor changes by a predetermined value. That is, even when theelectrostatic capacitance value of the electrostatic sensor changes by apredetermined value due to raindrops attached to the window glass of thedoor 30, the door control device 100A does not activate the door 30unless the portable device 200 approaches the vehicle 10. Therefore, thedoor control device 100A can reduce a possibility of erroneouslyoperating the door 30 as compared with a case where operationdetermination of the door 30 is performed using only the electrostaticsensor. A detection area of the electrostatic sensor in this case refersto a position of the user when a part of the body such as a hand canapproach the electrostatic sensor.

In the second embodiment, the door control device 100A may determine oneof the doors 30 to be operated based on an approaching direction of theportable device 200 with respect to the vehicle 10. For example, thedoor control device 100A may set the one of the doors 30 to be operatedas the front door 31 when the front door 31 is present in theapproaching direction of the portable device 200, and set the one of thedoors 30 to be operated as the rear door 32 when the rear door 32 ispresent in the approaching direction of the portable device 200.Accordingly, the door control device 100A can operate the front door 31when the user executes the gesture operation at a position closer to theback door 33 than the front door 31 in a situation where the userapproaches the front door 31.

In the second embodiment, the door control device 100A may predict aroute of the user based on the approaching direction of the portabledevice 200 with respect to the vehicle 10. In this case, the doorcontrol device 100A may restrict an opening operation of the front door31 when the predicted route of the user and an operation trajectoryduring the opening operation of the front door 31 cross each other.

The first communication control unit 92 and the second communicationcontrol unit 202 may mutually authenticate each other using Wi-Fi orBluetooth (registered trademark).

The first communication control unit 92 and the second communicationcontrol unit 202 may measure a distance between the in-vehiclecommunication device 90 and the portable device 200 using a BluetoothLow Energy (BLE).

The illumination device 80 may be a headlight, a backlight, a roomlight, or the like provided in the vehicle 10.

One of the doors 30 to be operated may be another opening and closingbody of the vehicle 10. For example, the opening and closing body may bea window glass of the door 30, a sunroof panel, or a fuel lid.

The door control devices 100 and 100A and the communication controlunits 92 and 202 may be configured as a circuit including one or moreprocessors that operate in accordance with a computer program (software)and one or more dedicated hardware circuits such as a dedicated hardware(application specific integrated circuit: ASIC) that executes at least apart of various processes, or a combination thereof. The processorincludes a CPU and a memory such as an RAM and an ROM. The memory storesprogram codes or instructions that cause the CPU to execute processing.The memory, that is a storage medium, includes any available medium thatcan be accessed by a general-purpose computer or a dedicated computer.

An opening and closing body control device is applied to a vehicle thatincludes a vehicle body having an opening, an opening and closing bodyconfigured to open and close the opening, a drive unit configured tooperate the opening and closing body, and a detection device configuredto detect a gesture operation of a user. The opening and closing bodycontrol device includes: a position acquisition unit configured toacquire a position of a portable device carried by the user by wirelesscommunication; an operation determination unit configured to determinewhether the gesture operation is executed in a situation where theportable device is present in a detection area of the detection device;and an opening and closing body control unit configured to operate theopening and closing body based on a content of the gesture operationwhen it is determined that the user executes the gesture operation.

The opening and closing body control device configured as describedabove operates the opening and closing body when the portable device ispresent in the detection area and the user executes the gestureoperation. In other words, when the portable device is not present inthe detection area, the opening and closing body control device does notoperate the opening and closing body even when the user executes thegesture operation. Therefore, the opening and closing body controldevice can prevent the opening and closing body from being erroneouslyoperated.

It is preferable that in the opening and closing body control device,the detection device is a camera, and the detection area is an imagingarea of the camera, the opening and closing body control device furtherincludes an area setting unit configured to set a recognition areanarrower than the imaging area based on the position of the portabledevice, and the operation determination unit is configured to determinewhether the gesture operation is executed in a situation where theportable device is present in the recognition area.

The opening and closing body control device configured as describedabove sets the recognition area in relation to a current position of theuser carrying the portable device. In other words, the opening andclosing body control device does not set the recognition area inrelation to the vehicle, such as a position of a front surface of theopening and closing body. Therefore, the user can operate the openingand closing body by executing the gesture operation at any position.Therefore, the opening and closing body control device can improveconvenience of the user.

It is preferable that in the opening and closing body control device,the detection device is a camera, and the detection area is an imagingarea of the camera, and the operation determination unit is configuredto determine whether the gesture operation is executed while theportable device approaches the vehicle.

The opening and closing body control device configured as describedabove operates the opening and closing body when the user carrying theportable device approaches the vehicle while executing the gestureoperation. Therefore, even when the opening and closing body controldevice erroneously determines that the user executes the gestureoperation, the opening and closing body control device does not operatethe opening and closing body unless the user approaches the vehicle.Therefore, the opening and closing body control device can prevent theopening and closing body from being erroneously operated.

It is preferable that in the opening and closing body control device,the opening includes a first opening and a second opening that areopened at different positions in the vehicle body, the opening andclosing body includes a first opening and closing body that opens andcloses the first opening and a second opening and closing body thatopens and closes the second opening, and the opening and closing bodycontrol unit is configured to operate the first opening and closing bodybased on the content of the gesture operation when the portable deviceis closer to the first opening and closing body than the second openingand closing body, and operate the second opening and closing body basedon the content of the gesture operation when the portable device iscloser to the second opening and closing body than the first opening andclosing body.

The opening and closing body control device configured as describedabove can switch an opening and closing body to be operated according tothe opening and closing body that the user approaches. That is, the userdoes not need to use a different gesture operation according to theopening and closing body to be operated. Therefore, the opening andclosing body control device can improve the convenience of the user.

It is preferable that in the opening and closing body control device,the camera is configured to be adjustable in directions, and the openingand closing body control device further includes a camera control unitconfigured to adjust a direction of the camera such that the portabledevice is present in an imaging area when the portable device is notpresent in the imaging area.

The opening and closing body control device configured as describedabove can set the recognition area from the wider imaging area. In otherwords, the opening and closing body control device can expand an area inwhich the gesture operation of the user can be detected, as comparedwith a case where the direction of the camera is fixed.

It is preferable that in the opening and closing body control device,the vehicle includes an illumination device configured to illuminatesurroundings of the vehicle, and the opening and closing body controldevice further includes an illumination control unit configured tocontrol the illumination device according to brightness around thevehicle.

When the surroundings of the vehicle are dark, an image quality of animage captured by the camera is likely to deteriorate. In this respect,regarding the opening and closing body control device configured asdescribed above, since the surroundings of the vehicle can beilluminated by the illumination device, even when the surroundings ofthe vehicle are dark, the image quality of the image captured by thecamera is less likely to deteriorate. As a result, the opening andclosing body control device can prevent an erroneous detection of thegesture operation of the user.

The opening and closing body control device configured as describedabove can prevent the opening and closing body from being erroneouslyoperated.

The principles, preferred embodiment and mode of operation of thepresent invention have been described in the foregoing specification.However, the invention which is intended to be protected is not to beconstrued as limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Further,the embodiments described herein are to be regarded as illustrativerather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by others,and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of thepresent invention. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all suchvariations, changes and equivalents which fall within the spirit andscope of the present invention as defined in the claims, be embracedthereby.

What is claimed is:
 1. An opening and closing body control deviceapplied to a vehicle that includes a vehicle body having an opening, anopening and closing body configured to open and close the opening, adrive unit configured to operate the opening and closing body, and acamera configured to detect a gesture operation of a user, the openingand closing body control device comprising: a position acquisition unitconfigured to acquire a position of a portable device carried by theuser by wireless communication; an operation determination unitconfigured to determine whether the gesture operation is executed in asituation where the portable device is present in a detection area whichis an imaging area of the camera; an opening and closing body controlunit configured to operate the opening and closing body based on acontent of the gesture operation when it is determined that the userexecutes the gesture operation; and an area setting unit configured toset a recognition area narrower than the imaging area centered on theposition of the portable device.
 2. The opening and closing body controldevice according to claim 1, wherein the operation determination unit isconfigured to determine whether the gesture operation is executed in asituation where the portable device is present in the recognition area.3. The opening and closing body control device according to claim 2,wherein the opening includes a first opening and a second opening thatare opened at different positions in the vehicle body, the opening andclosing body includes a first opening and closing body that opens andcloses the first opening and a second opening and closing body thatopens and closes the second opening, and the opening and closing bodycontrol unit is configured to operate the first opening and closing bodybased on the content of the gesture operation when the portable deviceis closer to the first opening and closing body than the second openingand closing body, and operate the second opening and closing body basedon the content of the gesture operation when the portable device iscloser to the second opening and closing body than the first opening andclosing body.
 4. The opening and closing body control device accordingto claim 2, wherein the camera is configured to be adjustable indirections, and the opening and closing body control device furthercomprises a camera control unit configured to adjust a direction of thecamera such that the portable device is present in the imaging area whenthe portable device is not present in the imaging area.
 5. The openingand closing body control device according to claim 2, wherein thevehicle includes an illumination device configured to illuminatesurroundings of the vehicle, and the opening and closing body controldevice further comprises an illumination control unit configured tocontrol the illumination device according to brightness around thevehicle.
 6. The opening and closing body control device according toclaim 1, wherein the operation determination unit is configured todetermine whether the gesture operation is executed while the portabledevice approaches the vehicle.